Report · 28 August 2026
Podia 2026 pricing, explained - what Podia really costs
Podia is the likeable one. Its pricing page is short, its plans have silly names, and its structure is the simplest in the category: one cheap plan that takes a cut, one dearer plan that does not. That simplicity deserves the same scrutiny as everyone else's small print, because the shape underneath is the category's standard shape: the cheap plan is not the price, the percentage is.
Here is the whole bill, set out the way Bernard sets out a quote. Every line, and no surprises at the van.
What Podia charges in 2026
Read on its own pricing page on 24 August 2026:
| Plan | The month | The year's bill | Cut of every sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mover | $42 | $504 | 5% |
| Shaker | $84 | $1,008 | none |
| Earthquaker | $150 | $1,800 | none |
At the rate we recorded in late July 2026, Mover's year is roughly £390 and Shaker's roughly £790. Roughly, because like the rest of the category, as What an online course platform really costs in 2026 - Podia, Kajabi, Teachable and the rest found, Podia quotes only dollars: no pound price, the rate moves monthly, and the card adds its conversion charge. Stripe or PayPal's own processing, 2.9% plus 30 cents by Podia's own figure, applies on every plan. The page does not say whether VAT is added for a UK buyer.
The 5% is the real price of Mover
Put a real month through it. Sell £1,000 of courses a month on Mover and the 5% is £50 a month, £600 a year, on top of the roughly £390 plan. You are close to Shaker money, having also given up Shaker's features. The crossover sits at about £670 a month of sales: past that, the cheap plan is the expensive one.
Podia's 5% is gentler than Teachable's 7.5%, and the gap between its cheap and free-of-commission plans is smaller. Fair is fair. The shape is still the shape.
So what does Podia really cost?
| The yearly bill | Podia Mover | Podia Shaker | Bernard, site + courses |
|---|---|---|---|
| The plan, paid yearly | $504 (about £390) | $1,008 (about £790) | £800 |
| Cut of your sales | 5% | none | none, ever |
| Currency | US dollars | US dollars | pounds, fixed |
| Anything added at the checkout | not stated on the page | not stated on the page | nothing |
What the price is really for
Shaker at about £790 and Bernard at £800 are the same money. So the question is only what you get.
Podia's figure buys a tidy course-and-digital-products platform with email tools built in. Bernard's £800 buys your whole website, moved in free and rebuilt so it loads fast and reads clearly to people and to the search and AI tools that now read the web, with the course living on it: lessons with video, automatic transcripts and captions, a free preview lesson, paid or free or invitation-only enrolment, a members area, recurring memberships charged on your own Stripe account, so the money never passes through anyone else's hands. He takes nothing from your sales at any level, and £800 is a pound figure with nothing added at the checkout.
And he is plain about what he does not do: no staged release and no live classes, with quizzes and per-student progress having arrived in August 2026 and the printable certificate still being finished. If those gaps carry your teaching, say so when you ask him, and he will tell you honestly whether he is the right van.
Paste your current address and Bernard will measure up, free, and show you the new place before you decide anything.
Questions people ask
- How much does Podia cost per year in 2026?
- Mover is $42 a month, $504 for the year, roughly £390, and it takes 5% of every sale on top. Shaker is $84 a month, $1,008 for the year, roughly £790, and takes nothing from sales. Earthquaker is $150 a month, $1,800 a year. Figures from Podia's own pricing page, read on 24 August 2026, all in US dollars; card processing of 2.9% plus 30 cents applies on every plan.
- What is Podia's transaction fee?
- The Mover plan takes 5% of every sale. Shaker and Earthquaker take nothing. Your payment processor, Stripe or PayPal, charges its standard 2.9% plus 30 cents on top on every plan; that is Podia's own stated figure, read 24 August 2026.
- Does Podia have UK pricing in pounds?
- No. The pricing page we read on 24 August 2026 quotes US dollars only. A UK buyer pays the exchange rate on the day plus whatever their card adds for the conversion, and the page does not say whether VAT is added for a UK buyer, so check your first invoice.
- Is Bernard cheaper than Podia?
- Against the plan most sellers should actually compare, near enough level. Podia's Shaker, the first plan that takes no cut of sales, is about £790 a year at the rate we recorded; Bernard hosts a whole website with a course on it for £800 flat, takes nothing from sales at any level, and the price is in pounds so it does not move. Against Mover at roughly £390, Bernard is dearer up front, but Mover's 5% catches up: at £700 a month of sales the commission alone passes £400 a year. The honest caveat: Bernard does not do staged release or live classes, and while quizzes with automatic marking and per-student progress arrived in August 2026, the printable certificate is still being finished.